Mobile Web users consume more media on their handsets than their TVs, survey finds

Time spent watching TV has been overtaken by mobile media consumption amongst those who use the mobile Web, a new survey has found.

Mobile ad network InMobi has revealed the results of a survey into the way that media is consumed on mobile devices. Conducted between September and November 2011 and questioning 20,000 mobile consumers in 18 markets, the survey shows that respondents spent 27% of their media time on mobile and 22% on TV.

It’s worth nothing that non-mobile online media consumption trumped both mobile and TV, with 32% share of time, indicating that InMobi was surveying the more tech-savvy end of the market. Indeed, the company says “The sample was weighted according to available mobile web demographics.”

The definition of ‘media’ is pretty broad here. InMobi says that “Social media, entertainment, and search are the top three mobile media activities among mobile web users.”

Still, it shows that the convenience of mobile platforms can beat the lure of the biggest screen in the house. Availability, ease of use, and privacy were given as the top reason respondents enjoyed mobile use.

Martin Bryant Editor-in-Chief at The Next Web. You can find him on Twitter, subscribe to him on Facebook, circle him on Google+ and visit his personal site. He's based in Manchester, UK and has a thing for quirky American music and Japanese video games.